Jan 21, 2011

Gala Dress

I've been putting off my Vintage Sewalong dress in order to finish a formal dress for an event that came up last minute. Well, not exactly last minute. I knew it was going to happen (as it does every year) but I didn't have a date for the event until less than two weeks ago. The company gala. My husband's company Winter Gala, to be exact, and it's January 29th.

So, I dug out my list of formal wear patterns (of which there are very few) and chose Burda 7470. I first noticed in the inside cover of my November Burda Style magazine. I'm generally not the 'butt bow' kind of girl, but this one just looked so elegant. I even chose a very similar color, a deep maroon.

This is as close as I could photograph of the actual color. It's really close.

The instructions on this one were actually pretty good. I've heard some horror stories of Burda instructions, but I didn't have any problems at all. Of course, I'm not a beginner, so that could make a difference. It seems like it took forever to put together, but that's mostly just because the plague hit our house (or at least it seemed that way) last week and both the little girls and I were quite under the weather. So, that meant that when I felt like sewing (which wasn't much) it had to happen late at night after the girls were in bed. It probably only really took a few hours.

Sorry for the horrible lighting. It's very late and I have harsh florescent lighting in my basement studio. And the material is shiny. I used a really delicious feeling crepe backed satin and lined it with black charmeuse. Don't look too closely at the bottom of the photo - it's not hemmed yet. I'm getting there tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to take some pictures of the dress on my body, too. You won't get the full picture until after the masks are finished. That's right, I didn't mention that it's a masquerade ball! You can't even imagine how excited I am about it. I love a good theme party. This is the ultimate. A fancy hotel ballroom filled with 200 adults dressed in black tie and feathery/sequined masks. There will be copious amounts of pictures, I promise. :)

HiI'm making this dress and wondered if you'd had the same problem with understanding what it meant by "work from right fabric side of dress to stitch in line of skirt joining seam". This is after sewing the dress and lining together at the neckline and armholes and after sewing the lining to the zipper bands. Does it mean literally sew in the seam so one can't see the stitching line? I've never come across this before.Thanks.

About Me

Wife and mother of two sweet little girls. West Virginia University grad, part time Audiologist, and full time mom. Attempting to live a fun, outgoing, and creative life that sets and example for my daughters.

About my blog title...

As an avid reader and lover of poetry, W. H. Auden has long been a favorite of mine. I was inspired by his poem "Underneath an Abject Willow" which states, "Sulk no more: Act from thought should quickly follow...Strike and you shall conquer." It seemed a fitting tribute as I attempt to get up and do something!